Sweet and Innocent
by meg596
Summary: When Barry Allen met fourteen year old Riley Matthews he had no idea just how much this sweet and innocent child would change his world. *NOT A ROMANCE FIC*
1. Forenote

Just so no one gets confused in this Caitlin is Cory Matthews adoptive sister and as such Riley's adoptive aunt. There is no romance between Barry and Riley or anyone in this fic as Riley is fourteen! this also contains a degenerative illness so read with caution.


	2. The life and times of Riley Matthews

Barry Allen liked to keep track of who knew his identity, of course a lot more people knew then he liked but he liked knowing he knew. Similarly, his friends liked to keep his identity secret which was why he was shocked to find an unknown player in the lab when he ran back. He stood still staring at the young girl. The young girl and stared back at him before breaking out into a big grin  
"Hey Cisco? I didn't know your boyfriend liked to play dress up" she quipped. The man turned to glare at her  
" A, He's not my boyfriend and B, you're not supposed to be in the lab without Caitlin" the girl frowned.  
"She told me to wait here!" the girl argued  
"Somehow I highly doubt that" Cisco said with a raised eyebrow. Barry looked between the two  
"Uh, sorry who exactly are you?" he asked. The girl grinned and held out her hand  
"I'm Riley, Riley Matthews and you're the Flash, A.K.A Barry Allen nice to meet you" and that's when a sweet fourteen-year-old started to rock Barry's world.

As it turned out Riley Matthews was Caitlin's adoptive niece and yes, Caitlin had told her about Barry, to which Barry glared about secret identities. Riley had laughed and asked who didn't know his identity at this point? Cisco had high fived her at that. Barry wasn't all too sure why Riley was in town, he knew that her parents were in New York. He knew that Caitlin was monitoring her health and wellbeing almost obsessively and he knew that Riley would be staying for a couple of weeks, he just didn't know why.

For the next three weeks Riley seemed to blend in with the group, she was often seen doing her homework in the lab or making Barry and the others food. She was fairly quiet which is why Barry decided it would be good to become her friend. As such when Caitlin was at a seminar and Cisco was on a date Barry decided to talk to the girl. He found her finishing up her homework  
"Hey" he said. She looked up, closed her book and turned to him.  
"Hey" she replied.  
"What are you doing?" he asked. She showed him her English homework, a poem. He read it in awe  
"Did you write this?" she nodded.  
"This is really good" he complimented her. She shrugged  
"I can write you one if you want?" she offered. Barry nodded and waited whilst she began to write, when she was done she handed it to him.

 _Red, the colour of danger,_

 _Danger is his middle name,_

 _Names are something he keeps hidden,_

 _Hidden like the true nature of his powers,_

 _Powers which are so bright and wonderful,_

 _Wonderful like the amount of people he's saved,_

 _Saved in the nick of time,_

 _Time in which held no power,_

 _Power which shines bright red._

She stared at him in apprehension, did he like it. Slowly but surely his face broke into a grin

"I love it, this is so well written, how did you learn to write like this?" he asked. She shrugged  
"Same way you got your powers I suppose." He laughed  
"What through a freak accident?" he asked, she smiled sadly  
"Yeah, it was freaky all right" Barry was about to ask what she meant when Cisco and Caitlin walked in carrying food, Riley slipped out before he realised she was gone.

Since that day Barry and Riley struck up a friendship in which neither felt pressured to be anything other than themselves. Riley honestly felt like Barry's little sister and vice versa. With Riley, Barry wasn't the flash or a boyfriend or a hero, he was Barry and he needed that. They began to make jokes in which every Thursday Barry took Riley out for ice cream t celebrate another week of her living with Caitlin and every time Barry had a bad mission Riley left him little pieces of poetry to cheer him up. If anyone found their friendship strange they never commented. Caitlin had thanked him saying he had brought back a bit of Riley she had though gone, and Cisco had laughed saying he better not turn into an overprotective big brother because Cisco had already claimed that role. Joe had all but welcomed her as a second daughter and the precinct had just gotten used to her meeting Barry after school. She would turn up at the precinct when she had finished school when Caitlin was busy and would go home with Barry whilst Joe made their tea. In fact, the only one that seemed to have a problem was Iris. She had told Barry that whilst she loved Riley Barry's relationship with her could be deemed inappropriate. Barry had said it was sick she would think that, and they were friends, siblings almost and that was the end of their conversation.

Riley had been staying with Caitlin for close to six months, going home every couple of weeks to see her parents. Riley had been living with Caitlin for six months and the older women was obsessive with Riley's health, Barry was inclined to believed there was something wrong. The girl was constantly wheezing and seemed out of breath all the time. Barry decided that he would just ask her, but he never seemed to have the chance as there was always someone else to save.

The day started out normal, that was until Caitlin rang Barry up in floods of tears shouting about a school on fire, Riley's school. Barry didn't waste any time, he donned his suit and ran head first into the fire. When he got there he found everyone outside, children frantically crying and pointing at the building.  
"You have to save her!" a young boy shouted. Barry turned to him  
"Who's in the building?" he asked.  
"A girl! She helped us get out and the building started collapsing and she's stuck!" he yelled. Barry paled,  
"What was she called?" he asked frantically. The boy looked at him  
"Riley" he murmured and then Barry ran headlong into the fire, the heat was stifling, and Barry could hear Cisco yelling about elevated heart rate and burning. Yet Barry tuned him out and searched for his friend. He found her collapsed under debris and ran too her. He began to pick up the wood and ash, helping her loose and got her out of the building before handing her to the paramedics, pleading to keep her alive before he ran into the building to make sure that everyone was out. When he made sure everyone was okay, he ran to the hospital, praying on whatever force was out there to keep her alive.

Two weeks, that's how long she had been asleep for. In that two weeks her parents had flown in to see her, they had yelled at Caitlin, who in turn apologised profusely, promising to make sure she was okay. It was two weeks in which Barry had found out a secret that Riley had wanted to keep secret, she had Cystic Fibrosis, it had been two weeks in which the doctors told them that her chances weren't looking good, she found it hard to breath before but with all the smoke and ash inhalation it will make it worse. It had been two weeks and the girl everyone was worrying over was blissfully unaware as she slept.

It was a week after that Riley Matthews shot up in bed, gasping for air, the doctor placed her under oxygen, her face panicked. When Riley settled down her parents came in, they stared at each other, scared before pulling her into a hug. Riley cried  
"I'm okay" they said nothing in return, they just hugged her tightly. Auggie gave his sister a big hug and began telling her about his day. Riley smiled and listened politely, when he was done she sent him to get something to eat as Caitlin entered the room. The women broke down into tears  
"I'm so sorry Riley! I'm your aunt, I should've looked after you and now you're ill and I'm so sorry!" she rambled. Riley smiled at her warmly  
"It's okay, you couldn't have known the building would set on fire besides you did help. You knew how bad my life was getting at home and you offered me an escape, I can't ever thank you enough for that!" Caitlin climbed into bed with Riley and hugged her. Together the girls fell into a slumber.


	3. The life and death of Riley Matthews

Riley had been at the hospital for nearly a month, the smoke and lack of oxygen had given her a lung infection which had to be monitored. She had been there a month ad Barry had yet to see her, she had asked about him when Joe visited but the older man just avoided the topic. It had been four weeks and Riley decided that the older man didn't want to see her, that was until the older man tuned up at her room, tired and looking worse for wear. She stared the man down before breaking the uncomfortable silence.  
"I hear the Flash saved me, my brother raving about it" the man laughed. Riley took this as a good sign, he wasn't yelling or crying yet, so it was okay.  
"Where have you been?" she asked, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice, it failed Barry could hear it. He looked down  
"I needed to work through some things and… I guess seeing you hurt it scared me" he admitted. Riley could see how scared he looked but she couldn't let him off the hook.  
"You've seen friends hurt before" she pointed out. He frowned  
"Yeah but it's different Riley"  
"How?"  
"Because it's you!" he yelled. Riley jumped slightly startled, why would she be any different?.  
"Because it's you and my friends are adults and you were this poor fragile kid that leaves me poetry when I've had a bad day and doesn't care who I am so long as I'm a good person. It's different because although it's slightly inappropriate you're my best friend Riley! You make me see the good in a world where I fight evil every day!" he yelled before breaking off in tears. She grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him down to the bed before pulling him into the warmest hug he had ever received. When she pulled away he smiled at her  
"How do you see the good in life Riles?" he asked. She shrugged, pondering his answer before replying.  
"My best friends are Farkle Minkus and Maya Hart, Farkle's dad owns and the boy decided he would find a cure to my disease, I haven't spoken to him since he got here, he made himself looking to help me. Maya began getting detention because she kept getting in fights over me, when the kids at school found out what I had they began making my life hard. So, she would fight them because I couldn't. When my parents found out they began blaming themselves, mum never knew she was a carrier, but it is genetic. So, they paid top dollar for the best doctors only to find Aunt Caitlin was the best in that field, so they sent me here. Auggie decided that he didn't want a world without me in it, so he offered me his lungs and when I explained why he couldn't do that he decided to volunteer at different charities with y mum. So, I see the good in the world because when I thought my life was over the world offered me a little good" she smiled, dryly and that's when Barry realised just how hard life had been on her. Her the girl that sprouted of injustice whilst always helping the underdog, her that exhausted herself to help others. The man grinned and pulled her into a hug, promising the world would always help her see the good.

A couple of weeks later found Barry and Riley in a homeless shelter, feeding the poor. The young man didn't quite understand how he ended up there, he just knew that Riley looked at him with the deep doeful eyes and he was hooked. They spent their morning feeding the poor and regaling them with tales of Riley's youth, stopping occasionally when things became too much for Riley. Barry knew that Riley was trying to give back. He could tell she was doing well as the homeless gravitated to her like bees to honey. Barry smiled as she helped a small homeless child cut up their meat and as she danced with a woman. He smiled because this girl was giving hope to people who had seen the underbelly of their city and she was doing it for no other reason than the fact that she could.

The two spent the next couple of days doing various activities, such as working in charity shops and old people's homes. The Matthews didn't stop him taking her out, happy that Riley was happy, occasionally Riley would talk to her friends back home. She always seemed sadder after they finished talking. When they weren't helping the less fortunate Barry was the CSI genius at work and the flash by night. Just like Riley's illness villains never took a rest. When Riley wasn't helping the less fortunate she was looking after her little brother whom she loved dearly. The two were joined at the hip.

Barry pondered on Riley's situation as she steadily grew worse, her breathless seemed to become a common occurrence and Barry was concerned to say the least. He was worrying so much that he went to Caitlin, he found her in the lab.  
"Hey Barry!" she said, albeit tiredly. The speedster looked at her  
"Is she dying?" he asked. Caitlin's face fell, her façade shattered, and Barry could see just how tired she was. She nodded, and Barry felt his heart drop, he wanted to ell at her, ask her why he was the last to know but one look at her face and he couldn't. The women looked so mentally drained that Barry just pulled her into a hug as the girl cried.  
"I can't lose her" she sobbed, Barry just held her as he realised just how much the women loved Riley. He realised that he had been selfish because whilst he was calling everyone someone was going to lose a daughter; a sister and Caitlin was going to lose a niece.  
"I tried Barry… I tried to hard to try and reverse it, she was supposed to have _time!_ This kind of stuff wasn't meant to affect her till she was so much older, she's just a kid… I can't lose her" Barry just held her close and let her sob, when she calmed down he kissed her hair.  
"It'll be okay" he promised as he picked her up and ran her home.  
"This isn't your fault" he said as he tucked her into bed.  
"This will work out" he promised as he left.

He spent the rest of the night running, running off the anger that he felt at the injustice of it all. Riley was a _good person_ who didn't deserve this, she deserved sunshine and unicorns and all the happy things in the world. He had spent so long running he didn't realise it was morning until he found ten missed calls of Iris, four off Joe and three off Caitlin. He couldn't ring them back, not yet. Instead he ran to the one person who wouldn't call him crazy, he ran to Cisco.

When he got there it seemed his friend had been waiting for him as he was sat on his couch with a bottle of beer in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other.  
"Guess you finally realised she isn't making it, grab a beer" and grab a beer he did, he downed it, grabbed another and sat next to his best friend. The usually excitable man turned to the speedster and took a deep breath.  
"I met Riley when she was ten, her and her father had come to see Caitlin, to tell her about Auggie being born. She took one look at me and I knew that behind that smile was a sarcastic little so and so. I was right, for four years every time she saw me she would tease me on my lack of girlfriend and say I was the biggest nerd she had ever seen. I thought she hated me but then she did something that changed me. When she visited last time, it was shortly after the particle Accelerator exploded and I was moping, she stormed in, grabbed me and took me back to Caitlin's apartment where she had all my favourite snacks and drinks and video games, I don't how she knew I needed it, but she gave me a relief from life." Barry continued to stare at him, unsure of where the tale was going. Cisco took a deep breath before continuing  
"So I understand why you are so upset. Riley… she doesn't care how old you are she just gets under your skin and stays there. She helps you when you didn't even know you needed help and now she needs help, and nothing can help her… so I get it." Barry began to tear up, he didn't want to lose her, it seemed neither did Cisco.  
"She makes me forget about everything, you guys constantly remind me of the flash and Joe reminds me of work and Iris, I love her to pieces, but she always wants something. Riley… she doesn't make me think about crime or the flash, she just makes all that go away" Cisco nodded  
"I get it man, she's a special person but she's young Barry… we have to be strong for her okay?" Barry nodded  
"Now go to her, show her the kindness she has showed everyone else" Barry nodded and began running again.

He found her near the park, swinging on the swings, he stilted to a halt and sat next to her. He watched her as she stared at the kids playing and saw her face fall slightly.  
"You finally realised I was dying then?" she asked. Barry nodded  
"You're not dead yet"  
"Might as well be, I'm destroying my family, I can't do anything." He frowned at her, he had never seen her so negative.  
"You might not survive but we can make this the best few weeks of your life" Riley looked at him  
"it's okay Barry, being here has been the best few weeks of my life… I just want to help people before I go and I'm doing that." Barry nodded and jumped up and held out his hand.  
"Well you won't do that sitting here" the girl grabbed his hand and they walked off into the unknown.

Riley spent as much time helping others, whether it be in homeless shelters, teaching poetry to young children or looking after her brother. No matter what she did she did it with a smile, she smiled through the pain and struggled through the breathlessness. She knew what she had to do, she had to leave her legacy.

Barry was at work when he got the call, a call he knew was coming but still broke his heart all the same. As such he answered and began running but no amount of running would outrun this problem. When he got there he found her family, cisco, Caitlin and two teens he assumed were Farkle And Maya. He walked over to the bed and smiled at her, no words were said as they just stared at each other. He knew he couldn't save her and she didn't want him too, instead they sat in silence as Riley drifted.

It had been two weeks since Riley died, two weeks since they flew to New York to have her burial and two weeks of endless sad days, the days blended into one of he and Caitlin leaned on each other for support. It was two weeks since she died, and Barry received an unknown email. The title read **when you have a bad day** underneath was a poem

 _You helped the girl which no one could see needed help,_

 _Help more than that of her condition,_

 _Condition that slowly kills it victims,_

 _Victims which you saved,_

 _Saved not as the flash nor CSI detective but as Barry Allen,_

 _Allen a name that will forever be associated with death and despair can now be associated with love and life,_

 _Life which was so precious,_

 _Precious like the memories,_

 _Memories which would forever be carved the tendrils of hope,_

 _Hope that there will be no more bad days,_

 _Days in which you can look at this and smile,_

 _Smile like you made her._

Barry laughed, he read the poem several times, laughing more manically each time. It seemed that Riley would forever be making his days better. He printed it and pinned it to the fridge, Riley Matthews may be gone but her work would forever live on.


End file.
